Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Buried at Ft. Rosecrans with Russian bride

The sailor meets a wife in Shanghai

Glikeria had been born in Kharkof, Russia
Glikeria had been born in Kharkof, Russia

The 1950 census won’t be released until 2025, so it was impossible to follow the census trail forward any further. I figured the only more current record I would find on our couple was their death dates, which should also get me their birth dates: Harry, who had been born in Missouri, by the way, lived from 1879 to 1954; Keria lived from 1889 to 1965. Both are buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma which made sense given that Harry was a Navy veteran.

Harry's 1917 passport application

Death information can be easily attained online through Findagrave.com, which is free for anyone to peruse. Fortunately, Findagrave.com even contained photos of the couple’s gravesites, and from these, I discovered that “Keria” was short for “Glikeria”. Her name had gone from unusual for its time period to what the heck country did she come from? Yes, Harry L. Rogers, who had about as American a name as one could 100-150 years ago) likely married an immigrant.

Now armed with their birth and death years, I had to see what else I could dig up on Harry and Glikeria. Even though there was no family tree on Ancestry that claimed them (no major surprise there), the document floodgates opened up. I found their 1915 marriage certificate, applied for in Shanghai, China, where Harry was obviously stationed. Besides the surprising residence, I learned that Glikeria’s full maiden name was Glikeria Dmitrieva Hastchina.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Glikeria's 1917 passport application

A 27-year-old bride to be, she had been born in Kharkof (Tomsk Province), Russia, and, according to a Wikipedia entry, most likely fit the description of an early “Shanghai Russian”. (Wikipedia defines this group as a Russian diaspora that flourished in Shanghai, China, between WWI and WWII.) Clearly, Harry Llewellyn (as I now had his middle name) Rogers had done some round-the-world traveling as a sailor, and must have met his fiancée in China. But how did Glikeria and Harry communicate? In English? In Russian? In some form of Mandarin? That was something I knew I’d never discern about their early years together.

Regarding the available documents on Ancestry, though, the best news was that the couple did some serious overseas traveling after being married, and that meant passports. And passports meant photos! Yes, their subtly smiling faces both adorned their passport applications in 1917. They were heading from Manila to the U.S. at that point, and Glikeria wore an undoubtedly homemade, European, checkerboard-design blouse in her photo, while Harry donned his bright white lab coat in his.

It was fortuitous that photos were included because they had only become a fixture in passports in 1914. I was beyond excited to see what this pair looked like because I was already drawing a detailed mental image of them going through daily routines in the old rooms of our house some 80+ years ago. Glikeria in her Russian accent: “Harry, would you please shut the front door? There’s a draft in here!”

Next week – Part 4: Bought houses on Brookes, Upas, 8th Avenue, Georgia Street

To read Part 1: Who owned our house on Richmond Street? click here.

To read Part 2: Hillcrest house falls from $12,000 to $5,000 in ten years click here.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Secrets of Resilience in May's Unforgettable Memoir

Next Article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central
Glikeria had been born in Kharkof, Russia
Glikeria had been born in Kharkof, Russia

The 1950 census won’t be released until 2025, so it was impossible to follow the census trail forward any further. I figured the only more current record I would find on our couple was their death dates, which should also get me their birth dates: Harry, who had been born in Missouri, by the way, lived from 1879 to 1954; Keria lived from 1889 to 1965. Both are buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in Point Loma which made sense given that Harry was a Navy veteran.

Harry's 1917 passport application

Death information can be easily attained online through Findagrave.com, which is free for anyone to peruse. Fortunately, Findagrave.com even contained photos of the couple’s gravesites, and from these, I discovered that “Keria” was short for “Glikeria”. Her name had gone from unusual for its time period to what the heck country did she come from? Yes, Harry L. Rogers, who had about as American a name as one could 100-150 years ago) likely married an immigrant.

Now armed with their birth and death years, I had to see what else I could dig up on Harry and Glikeria. Even though there was no family tree on Ancestry that claimed them (no major surprise there), the document floodgates opened up. I found their 1915 marriage certificate, applied for in Shanghai, China, where Harry was obviously stationed. Besides the surprising residence, I learned that Glikeria’s full maiden name was Glikeria Dmitrieva Hastchina.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Glikeria's 1917 passport application

A 27-year-old bride to be, she had been born in Kharkof (Tomsk Province), Russia, and, according to a Wikipedia entry, most likely fit the description of an early “Shanghai Russian”. (Wikipedia defines this group as a Russian diaspora that flourished in Shanghai, China, between WWI and WWII.) Clearly, Harry Llewellyn (as I now had his middle name) Rogers had done some round-the-world traveling as a sailor, and must have met his fiancée in China. But how did Glikeria and Harry communicate? In English? In Russian? In some form of Mandarin? That was something I knew I’d never discern about their early years together.

Regarding the available documents on Ancestry, though, the best news was that the couple did some serious overseas traveling after being married, and that meant passports. And passports meant photos! Yes, their subtly smiling faces both adorned their passport applications in 1917. They were heading from Manila to the U.S. at that point, and Glikeria wore an undoubtedly homemade, European, checkerboard-design blouse in her photo, while Harry donned his bright white lab coat in his.

It was fortuitous that photos were included because they had only become a fixture in passports in 1914. I was beyond excited to see what this pair looked like because I was already drawing a detailed mental image of them going through daily routines in the old rooms of our house some 80+ years ago. Glikeria in her Russian accent: “Harry, would you please shut the front door? There’s a draft in here!”

Next week – Part 4: Bought houses on Brookes, Upas, 8th Avenue, Georgia Street

To read Part 1: Who owned our house on Richmond Street? click here.

To read Part 2: Hillcrest house falls from $12,000 to $5,000 in ten years click here.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Next Article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader